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Eli Manning Hosts Guiding Eyes Golf At Greenwich's Fairview

WHTIE PLAINS, N.Y. – Eli Manning announced Monday in White Plains that he will return to host Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s 36th annual golf classic in June.

Eli Manning talks in White Plains at Guiding Eyes' "Tee Off" for its annual golf outing in June in Mount Kisco.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly

Guiding Eyes Graduate Kate Katulak tells how the organization changed her life for the better at Mulino's of Westchseter in White Plains Monday.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Eli Manning holds a Guiding Eyes puppy.

Eli Manning holds a Guiding Eyes puppy.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Kate Katulak, a Guiding Eyes graduate, listens on as Eli Manning talks about the Yorktown Heights organization's annual golf classic.

Kate Katulak, a Guiding Eyes graduate, listens on as Eli Manning talks about the Yorktown Heights organization's annual golf classic.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Eli Manning has been involved in Guiding Eyes for the Blind's golf classic for seven years.

Eli Manning has been involved in Guiding Eyes for the Blind's golf classic for seven years.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly

This will be the seventh year the New York Giants quarterback hosts the event, to be held June 9 and 10 at the Mount Kisco Country Club and Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Conn.

Since Manning joined Guiding Eyes, the Yorktown Heights-based seeing eye dog nonprofit, it has sold out the golf classic each year and raised about $4 million. Since its founding in 1977 by PGA legend Ken Venturi, the golf classic has raised more than $8 million.

Manning said he first got involved through a family friend, Patrick Browne Jr., who taught him how to golf as a boy. The cause has become dear to his heart since joining Guiding Eyes and he has gotten more involved each year, he said. 

“For people without sight, teaming up with a Guiding Eyes dog can change their lives, keep them safe, give them independence and a trusted friend,” said Manning, the owner of a King Charles Cavalier named Chester. 

This year, he heard Guiding Eyes graduate Kate Katulak tell her story. Monday, she told a group gathered at Mulino’s of Westchester in White Plains that she lost her sight as a teenager. Her friends stopped talking to her. She feared going anywhere without holding onto someone else and she said she became depressed and miserable.

That all changed when she got her first guide dog from Guiding Eyes.

“In the moment when I held onto the dog’s harness and took those first steps, unaccompanied by another person, but still having a pair of eyes watching out for me, it honestly felt like my life had been giving back to me,” she said.

On June 9, 14 of Westchester’s top blind golfers will compete for the Corcoran Cup, which is the “Masters” of blind golf, Guiding Eyes said in a release. Coaches will help each competitor select clubs and align, setup and judge the distance of their shots.

Guiding Eyes will raffle a new 2013 BMW 128i Coupe and a pair of Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches. Tickets can be bought online or by calling 914-761-7111 for $100. There are only 1,000. It will also host an online auction beginning May 20. Items up for auction are exotic vacations, exlcusive experiences and signed sports memorabilia, including footballs signed by Manning. View the items online.

Spectators are welcome at the Corcoran Cup. Gallery seating will require registration. For more information contact Michelle Brier at 914-243-2208 or mbrier@guidingeyes.org.

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